A sturdy little coffer for storing and heating betel nuts and the lime necessary for chewing them, this fine brass work, approximately 5-1/4 inches by 2-1/2 inches by two inches high, is nicely punched and engraved with designs of trailing foliage and geometric patterns. Raised framing has been filed to suggest rope-work.. It is easy to see how this form influenced the design of early Dutch tobacco boxes. The two metal inside dividers are missing, but the piece retains its push button lock...

This finely crafted Indonesian betel nut box is the finest I have ever come across. The strapwork decorated body is in clearest white paktong, an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc much favored as a tarnish-free silver substitute by British silversmiths in the Eighteenth Century. There are three compartments inside for the betelnuts and the lime and betel leaves necessary for chewing them. Indonesian, Nineteenth Century. Approximately 7-3/4 inches long by four inches wide by 2-3/4 inches high...